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United Nations on board with Global Resilience Centre to help tackle Sargassum threat, says Bartlett

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Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism, Hon Edmund Bartlett, says the United Nations (UN) is fully on board to improve coordinated action and share expertise and resources with the Global Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCM, as it relates to the threat of sargassum to the region.

“This agreement follows fruitful discussions with the UN and the GTRCM recently. Both entities recognize that the effects of this sargassum are becoming more and more severe and concerns of the UN and the GTRCM include impacts on tourism in the region, as well as impacts on fisheries, human health, and the environment.

Jamaica is taking the lead on this matter given the threat of this phenomenon on our main economic activity in the region – tourism,” said Minister Bartlett.

Minister Bartlett, who serves as Co-Chair of the GTRCM was instrumental in bringing the United Nations to the table, when he met with the UN Office of Partnerships in New York recently.

The UN was represented by the Head of the Caribbean Sub-Regional Office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Sub-Regional Coordinator for the Caribbean of the Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

The meetings, which included Professor Lloyd Waller of the University of the West Indies (UWI); Renata Clarke (FAO), Vincent Sweeney (UNEP) and Ileana Lopez (UNEP) discussed the relevant work taking place at the UWI and across the UN, and considered options such as sinking of the sargassum to prevent it from coming ashore.

Minister Bartlett, through the GTRCM, recently spearheaded a regional sargassum forum which included mechanical engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Precision Engineering Research Group; and noted researchers from the UWI and the GTRCM. The objective of the forum was to share knowledge and best practices as it relates to sargassum, specifically the type which originates from the coast of Brazil.

“We are still in the exploratory phase to bring together the best minds so as to collaborate on the best method to mitigating the threat of this phenomena and will be continuing these discussions to decide on the way forward,” Minister Bartlett concluded.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, Corporate Communications, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: 920-4926-30, Fax: 920-4944

Sargassum Clean-up Costs Caribbean US$120 Million – Bartlett

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The unprecedented levels of sargassum seaweed that washed up on Caribbean beaches in 2018 resulted in estimated clean-up costs of US$120 million, according to Minister of Tourism and Co-Chair of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCM), Hon. Edmund Bartlett.

In addition to costly removal, tourism stakeholders have become increasingly concerned about the seaweed’s unsightly appearance, visitor complaints and the possibility of reputational damage, the Tourism Minister noted.

“As active stakeholders in the sector we understand the inestimable value of tourism to stable and prosperous Caribbean economies.  Tourism remains the single most important catalyst of sustained economic livelihoods in the region,” Minister Bartlett said in opening remarks at the GTRCM Roundtable on Sargassum today (July 26) at the University of the West Indies’ Region Headquarters, Mona.

The Caribbean is the most tourism-dependent region of the world, where it is the main economic sector in 16 out of 18 Caribbean states and supports close to 3 million jobs.

Noting forecasts of a 12% growth in tourist arrivals to the region for 2019, Minister Bartlett said, “Despite these promising indicators and its (tourism’s) historical resilience, we remain well aware that the tourism sector is very fragile and prone to disruptive elements.  The last ten years have witnessed an evolution of the threats facing the sector.  These threats have become more unpredictable and more devastating in their impact and certainly more difficult to manage.”

Sargassum is one such threat.  Accordingly, the GTRCM saw an urgent need to facilitate the coming together of regional tourism and environmental stakeholders to share ideas, best practices and possible solutions to the adverse effects sargassum in having on national and regional economies.

Sargassum Clean-up Costs Caribbean US$120 Million – Bartlett
Professor Lloyd Waller (left), Executive Director, Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCM); Professor Mona Webber, Director, Centre for Marine Sciences and Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory; and Minister of Tourism and GTRCM Co-Chair, Hon. Edmund Bartlett (right) discuss the sargassum threat to Caribbean tourism during the GTRCM Roundtable on Sargassum at the University of the West Indies Region Headquarters, Mona.

Since 2011, thick mats of seaweed have increased in density to generate an 8850-kilometer-long belt (weighing 20 million metric tons) known as the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt that extends from West Africa to the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Scientists believe this algal explosion in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea could signify a new normal. 

The sargassum phenomenon is believed to be driven by a combination of man-made and natural factors, including climate change and increased sea surface temperature; change in regional winds and ocean current patterns; and an increased supply of nutrients from rivers, sewage and nitrogen-based fertilizers.

In the open seas, sargassum provides critical habitats for marine and bird life.  However, when it inundates beaches it rots and smells, becoming an environmental and economic nuisance.  Tourism on Mexico’s Caribbean Coast dropped an estimated 35% in 2018 due to sargassum washing up on the 480-kilometer-long stretch of otherwise pristine beaches.

Minister Bartlett told local and overseas participants at the GTRCM Roundtable that a strong regional response at both the political and technical level is urgently required to address this rapidly evolving sargassum problem.

“The effective countering of this threat will require the different nations’ governments coming together to conduct research, mitigate contributing factors, identify global best practices in adaptation strategies and develop a comprehensive scientific initiative to establish the most efficient ways to collect the sargassum in the open sea without harming the ecosystem,” said the Tourism Minister.

Presentations were made by Andres Bisono Leon and Luke Grey, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Precision Engineering Research Group; Professor Mona Webber, Director, Centre for Marine Sciences and Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory; and Marion Sutton, Oceanographer and Project Manager, Collecte Localisation Satellites, France.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Corporate Communications Division

Ministry of Tourism

64 Knutsford Boulevard

Kingston 5

Tel: 920-4926-30

Jamaica to host Regional Sargassum Forum

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In light of the influx of sargassum in the Caribbean region, Jamaica will host a regional forum to facilitate collaboration to address the matter. The forum, which is being spearheaded by the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCM), will be held at the Regional Headquarters of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona tomorrow, Friday July 26.

The objective of the forum is to share knowledge and best practices as it relates to sargassum, specifically the type which originates from the coast of Brazil. The outcome from the forum will be to identify gaps and foster synergies towards a solution.

In highlighting the importance of finding effective solutions to the sargassum issue, Minister Bartlett said, “Jamaica is taking the lead on this critical issue of preventing sargassum from negatively impacting our beaches which will ultimately, negatively impact our tourism.

We are being proactive as the onset of sargassum poses a real threat to not just Jamaica but the entire region that is so heavily dependent on tourism.”

Sargassum is a type of brown seaweed and numerous species are distributed throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world, where they inhabit shallow water and coral reefs. It often causes a foul odour, releasing fumes of sulphur compounds that rust metals, and damage modern conveniences.

Professor, the Hon Ambassador Richard Bernal, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global Affairs at the UWI says, “The UWI has been monitoring and identifying solutions to the sargassum situation and this forum will provide an opportunity for collaboration with stakeholders across the Caribbean to further examine the threat and identify practical and cost effective solutions.”

The roundtable participants include mechanical engineers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Precision Engineering Research Group; and noted researchers from the UWI and the GTRCM.

“I am pleased that we will have some of the brightest minds on this subject area who will engage in discussion on the possible avenues the region can employ to prevent this threat from devastating our shores and collective tourism product,” added Minister Bartlett.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, Corporate Communications, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: 920-4926-30, Fax: 920-4944